Minnesota Wild: Most Likely Award Candidates
By Luke Ryan
Which Minnesota Wild Rookie Is Calder-Worthy?
There’s a few options here; but I think you have to look no further than the obvious candidate – Jordan Greenway.
He has been marked as the Minnesota Wild player most likely to break-out in our site round-table, so much so none of us were allowed to pick him.
Add in the fact that Michael Russo over at The Athletic (subscription required) is reporting that he is getting a shot at centering a line, and his year could have Calder written all over it.
Greenway is a huge player in terms of his size and if he is able to use it to his advantage, he’ll be a true force to be reckoned with. Right now the top six seems all but set, which places him on the third line. That’s the perfect opportunity for the youngster to feast on some likely less well-matched lines.
If he does continue to partner my choice as break-out star, Joel Eriksson-Ek and everyone’s favourite trade candidate, Charlie Coyle; we should prove quite the handful for opposition teams to match up against.
The biggest challenge that Greenway faces is scoring, realistically. The Calder trophy race for the most part ends up being between the high-scoring youngsters; think Auston Matthews and Matthew Barzal as recent examples.
Should Jordan not come tearing out of the gates scoring goals and notching assists, he could find himself straight out of the running.
If however, he can use his size and strength and force his way onto the score-sheet on a regular basis, low and behold, we may have a Minnesota Wild candidate for the Calder Trophy!